[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19700-19702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office
[www.gpo.gov ]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7876]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[2253-665]
Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: California Department of Parks
and Recreation, Sacramento, CA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The California Department of Parks and Recreation, in consultation
with the appropriate tribes, has determined that the cultural items meet the
definition of unassociated funerary objects and repatriation to the Indian
tribes stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward.
Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally
affiliated with the cultural item may contact the California Department of
Parks and Recreation.
DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a cultural
affiliation with the cultural item should contact the California Department
of Parks and Recreation at the address below by May 2, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Rebecca Carruthers, NAGPRA Coordinator, California Department of
Parks and Recreation, 1416 9th Street, Room 902, Sacramento, CA 95814,
telephone (916) 653-8893.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of
the intent to repatriate cultural items under the control of the California
Department of Parks and Recreation that meet the definition of unassociated
funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001. The unassociated funerary objects were
removed from twelve sites located in San Diego and Imperial counties, CA.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the museum,
institution or Federal agency that has control of the Native American
cultural item. The National
[[Page 19701]]
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
History and description of the cultural item
The unassociated funerary objects were removed from twelve sites located
in San Diego and Imperial Counties, CA. The geographical location of these
sites indicates that the unassociated funerary objects were recovered within
the historically documented territory shared by the Cahuilla and the
Kumeyaay. Northern areas of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, such as the
San Felipe Creek drainage, Culp Valley, Pinyon Ridge, the Borrego Badlands,
and the Borrego Valley, may have formed a so-called ``transitional zone''
between the Cahuilla and the Kumeyaay. The two groups would have used the
areas jointly or, as convenient, for subsistence or ceremonial needs.
The traditional territory of the Kumeyaay includes a significant portion
of present-day San Diego County up to the Aqua Hedionda area and inland along
the San Felipe Creek (just south of Borrego Springs). Bound to the east by
the Sand Hills in Imperial County and includes the southern end of the Salton
Basin and all of the Chocolate Mountains, the territory extends southward to
Todos Santos Bay, Laguna Salada and along the New River in northern Baja
California. The central and southern portions of Anza Borrego Desert State
Park lie within the traditional territory of the Kumeyaay.
The traditional aboriginal territory of the Cahuilla, as defined by
anthropologist Lowell John Bean, encompasses a geographically diverse area of
mountains, valleys and low desert zones. The southernmost boundary
approximately followed a line from just below Borrego Springs to the north
end of the Salton Basin and the Chocolate Mountains. The eastern boundary ran
along the summit of the San Bernardino Mountains. The northern boundary stood
within the San Jacinto Plain near Riverside, while the base of Palomar
Mountain formed the western boundary. According to Bean and archeologist
William D. Strong, the northern end of Anza Borrego Desert State Park lies
within the traditional territory of the Cahuilla and includes the areas of
Borrego Palm Canyon, Coyote Canyon, Clark Valley, the Santa Rosa Mountains,
Jackass Flat, Rockhouse Canyon and Horse Canyon.
At an unknown date, Harvey Clark collected a small pottery bowl from site
CA-SDI-4443 in the Barrel Springs area of Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular
Recreation Area, an area of the park known to contain large village sites
with cremation burials. The bowl is an unassociated funerary object based on
the proximity of human cremation burials in the area and the personal nature
of the object. Although the object does not appear to be heavily burned, it
is more likely than not to have come from a funerary context.
At an unknown date, an unidentified individual collected one lot of
charcoal samples from an unidentified cremation burial within Anza Borrego
Desert State Park. In 1989, the objects were found in the Paul Ezell Archives
at the Arizona State Museum and subsequently returned to the California
Department of Parks and Recreation in 2000. The samples are unassociated
funerary objects based upon the labels which read: ``Charcoal Do Not Open,
Yuman Inhumation, Anza-Borrego.''
At an unknown date prior to 1980, an unidentified individual collected a
Haliotis ornament, 12 melted glass beads and three burnt pottery fragments
from an unidentified site along the shoreline of the Salton Sea in Lower
Borrego Valley. The objects were donated to the California Department of
Parks and Recreation by Ada Jackson in 1980. The objects were recovered from
the shoreline of the ancient Lake Cahuilla where there are extremely dense
concentrations of habitation and cremation deposits. The objects are
unassociated funerary objects based on the proximity of human cremation
burials in the area, the burned exterior which is consistent with exposure to
heat during cremation, and the description on the Haliotis ornament which
states ``Cremation Associated.''
Sometime in the 1970s, archeologist William Seidel collected a burnt
potsherd from site D-7-5 northwest of Borrego Springs, CA, an area known to
contain large village sites with cremation burials. The potsherd is an
unassociated funerary object based on the proximity of human cremation
burials, the personal nature of the object, and the burned exterior which is
consistent with exposure to heat during cremation.
At an unknown date, Phil Benge collected a small pottery bowl from an
unidentified site near Tamarisk Grove in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, an
area known to contain major village sites with cremation burials. The bowl is
an unassociated funerary object based on the proximity of human cremation
burials in the area and the ceremonial nature of the object. Small bowls such
as this were not ordinary household utilitarian vessels but were used by
ceremonial leaders to mix medicinal and ceremonially ingested substances,
sometimes used in funerary and mourning ceremonies. Although the object does
not appear to be heavily burned, it is more likely than not to have come from
a funerary context.
Sometime in the 1970s, archeologist William Seidel collected eight
Olivella shell beads from an unidentified site south of the airport in
Borrego Springs, CA, an area known to contain large village sites with
cremation burials. The beads are unassociated funerary objects based upon the
proximity of human cremation burials in the area and the ceremonial/personal
nature of the objects. Although the objects do not appear to be heavily
burned, they is more likely than not to have come from a funerary context.
At an unknown date between 1945 and 1955, Mrs. Jane Thomas collected one
lot of over 200 burnt shell beads from an unidentified site in mesquite dunes
in the Ocotillo Badlands east of Ocotillo Wells, an area known to contain
large village sites with cremation burials. The beads are unassociated
funerary objects based upon the proximity of human cremation burials in the
area, the personal nature of the objects, and the burned exterior which is
consistent with exposure to heat during cremation.
At an unknown date, B. Frizzel collected two burnt Olivella shell beads
from an unidentified site near Ocotillo Wells in San Diego County, CA. The
beads are unassociated funerary objects based upon the personal nature of the
objects and the burned exterior which is consistent with exposure to heat
during cremation.
At an unknown date, Harry Dick Ross collected one lot of over 80 burnt
Olivella shell beads from an unidentified site in Lower Borrego Valley in San
Diego and Imperial County, CA, an area known to contain large village sites
with cremation burials. The beads are unassociated funerary objects based
upon the proximity of human cremation burials in the area, the personal
nature of the objects, and the burned exterior which is consistent with
exposure to heat during cremation.
At an unknown date, an unidentified individual collected a pipe stem
fragment from an unidentified site in the Harper Flat area of Anza Borrego
Desert State Park. The object was donated to the California Department of
Parks and Recreation by Harry D. Ross in 1979. This unassociated funerary
object was recovered from an area known to contain large village sites with
cremation burials. The pipe fragment to be an unassociated funerary object
based upon the proximity of human cremation burials in the area and the
[[Page 19702]]
ceremonial/personal nature of the object. Although the object does not appear
to be heavily burned, it is more likely than not to have come from a funerary
context.
At an unknown date, an unidentified individual collected one lot of more
than 100 burnt beads, seven pipe fragments, a pottery ball, and a pottery
object from an unidentified site in the Borrego Valley area of Anza Borrego
Desert State Park. These objects were a part of the DuVall Collection, which
was later donated to California Department of Parks and Recreation in the
1970s. The DuVall Collection represents cultural materials collected on and
around an early settlers' ranch in Borrego Valley. Given the lack of specific
provenience, the geographical location of the site is impossible to
determine. Based on the provenience of the other objects from the DuVall
Ranch in Borrego Valley, it can be reasonably assumed that these remains were
collected from the same geographic region. These unassociated funerary
objects are thought to have been collected from an area know to contain
extensive habitation and burial deposits. The Borrego Sink was an area where
both the Kumeyaay and the Cahuilla peoples came together for ceremonial
events such as cremation and mourning ceremonies. The objects are
unassociated funerary objects based on the ceremonial/
personal nature of the objects common to cremation burials of the Kumeyaay
and Cahuilla and the burned exterior which is consistent with exposure to
heat during cremation.
At an unknown date, individuals (including DC Barbee, F. Fairchild, Ada
Jackson, Harry D. Ross and Ben McCown) collected objects from an unknown
number of archaeological sites and these materials were stored in the Borrego
Archaeological Research Center in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The
unassociated funerary objects consist of 57 burnt shell beads, 6 pipe
fragments and one small pottery bowl. Though no specific provenience
information is available for these objects, they appear consistent with the
material culture of Cahuilla or Kumeyaay in the region of Anza Borrego Desert
State Park. In this region, pipes, shell beads, and small pottery bowls were
often disposed of when a person died and was cremated. The objects are
ceremonial/personal in nature, and although the object does not appear to be
heavily burned, it is more likely than not to have come from a funerary
context.
Determinations made by the California Department of Parks and Recreation
Officials of the California Department of Parks and Recreation have
determined that:
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 107 cultural items described above
are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human
remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony
and is believed, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed
from a specific burial site of a Native American individual.
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of shared group
identity that can be reasonably traced between the unassociated funerary
objects and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the Agua Caliente
Indian Reservation, California; Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians,
California (formerly the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the
Augustine Reservation); Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, California; Cahuilla
Band of Mission Indians of the Cahuilla Reservation, California; Campo Band
of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Campo Indian Reservation, California;
Capitan Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of California: Barona Group
of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Barona Reservation,
California, and Viejas (Baron Long) Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission
Indians of the Viejas Reservation, California; Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay
Indians, California; Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, California (formerly the
Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Santa Ysabel
Reservation); Inaja Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Inaja and Cosmit
Reservation, California; Jamul Indian Village of California; La Posta Band of
Diegueno Mission Indians of the La Posta Indian Reservation, California; Los
Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, California (formerly the Los
Coyotes Band of Cahuilla & Cupeno Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation);
Manzanita Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Manzanita Reservation,
California; Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Mesa Grande
Reservation, California; Morongo Band of Mission Indians, California
(formerly the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Morongo
Reservation); Ramona Band of Cahuilla, California (formerly the Ramona Band
or Village of Cahuilla Mission Indians of California); San Pasqual Band of
Diegueno Mission Indians of California; Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians,
California (formerly the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the
Santa Rosa Reservation); Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation; and Torres-
Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, California (formerly the Torres-Martinez
Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of California) (hereafter referred to as
``The Tribes'').
Additional Requestors and Disposition
Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally
affiliated with the unassociated funerary object should contact Rebecca
Carruthers, NAGPRA Coordinator, California Department of Parks and
Recreation, 1416 9th Street, Room 902, Sacramento CA 95814, telephone (916)
653-8893, before May 2, 2012. Repatriation of the unassociated funerary
objects to The Tribes may proceed after that date if no additional claimants
come forward.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for
notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.
Dated: March 28, 2012.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-7876 Filed 3-30-12; 8:45 am]
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